Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Minor Hobby happenings

 

Let's squueeeze in a post before Halloween.  Folks might want some light (very light)  reading while waiting by the door for the trick-or-treaters.  Some of you might be waiting with the hose ready to repel the grubby gremlins away with jets of water.  Don't let the light from your cellphone give away your hiding spot.


Onward and Upward


In what is becoming a continuing motif in this Terrible Blog, I have for you more...wait for it....DICE MARKERS!  (cue the sounds of reluctant applause)





the Audience says, "enough with the Gird Dern dice already!  We git it.  Don't you have enough of those?"

No.  I'm aiming for around 50.  So that when I do finally get around to doing some sort of mass battle there are enough dice to track the hits to each unit on the table.  Because to run out of dice counters half way through the battle would be lame.  Plus, these dice are so small that I'm probably gonna lose a couple.

There's 37 done so far.  I have another 13 left on the bag. And that will make 50.
It's almost like they sell these in pack of 10.



Speaking of Mass Battles


The first 4 Big Battle Basses for the Viking Army are complete.   It's not really a base but a movement tray, but I'm a sucker for alliterations.   These are the same as for the Saxon army (10 man loose order trays from Charlie Foxtrot Models). 






Again, I'm just making the trays and then taking my already painted Vikings and putting them on.  One would think that I would just grab any 10 figs and be done with it, but NO.  It's easy to get meticulously picky about which figures to put where; scanning over the entire collection to find a miniature with the right pose, facial expression, and equipment to make the base POP.  





These are also magnetized like the Saxon's trays.  Gotta treat all your miniatures the same even if you do love one more than the other.  Just like my children.


Spears of Love


In my last game of Clash of Spears (see previous post HERE if so inclined) the units armed with throwing spears were, um...,  throwing their spears like crazy; GO FIGURE.  It's almost like they preferred to stand far apart and throw things rather than get up really close and stab each other.  



To mark when a unit threw it's spears (because it matters in CoS) I was using some generic markers that I had laying around.  Just 25mm disks with some flock and a rock on it. 
But since the game I've wanted something a little more DIGNIFIED, something more REFINDED, something more UPPER CLASS to note when hairy smelly men threw sharp sticks at each other.  So I came up with these.



Supposed to be Spears stuck in the ground.
A long stick in the ground just screams Dignity.


The End is Scary


Have a Happy Halloween.  Don't spray trick-or-treaters with the hose.  You're better than that.  
So far our plan is for me to pull the kids on the wagon while trick-or-treating.  Which sounds like a great way to ensure that by the end of the night I'll be tired and cranky and the kids will be well rested and full of sugar.  

Till next time.  Thanks for reading and all comments are greatly appreciated.  

27 comments:

  1. More funny stuff from you. Your markers loaded with dice and movement trays loaded with figures are sublime. Our Halloween revelry includes opening our doors to our grandkids and their school friends (and parents) as they descend like locusts upon the neighborhood. Hopefully, it does not rain. I just shampooed the carpets...

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    1. Thanks Jonathan. Good luck with the party. My kids skipped trick or treating last year due to Covid so are especially excited this year. 😀

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  2. I don't spray them with a hose, I lurk in the dark and scare the crap out of them when I sudden loom out. Except for the little ones, because I'm not that mean. Usually.

    I like the markers, but aren't they a pain to transport? Or do you do most of your gaming at home?

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    1. Thanks Markus, I imagine you can be quite scary. 😀
      I do a lot of gaming at home but I don’t think the markers will be hard to transport. They are light and have their own small tub.

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  3. Nice markers.

    The real question is what last minute costume fix did you have to make, and did it use hobby skills?

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    1. Thanks David. So far no fixes needed. Daughter #1 has 4 costumes to choose from and son #2 is happy as a dinosaur and baby son #3 has a fox outfit.

      We did miss an opportunity for a family costume as the Incredibles but maybe next year. 😀

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  4. Have fun with the wee ones. I am sure their resulting hyper sugar-fueled selves will be an utter delight to be around at the end of it all! 🙂 I live in the countryside now and so there will be no trick or treating to enjoy. Peace and quiet….

    Markers and bases all look splendid mate. Only 13 to go is a nice feeling I’m sure, but what next after they are finished!?

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    1. Thanks Dai. Our house will be overflowing with candy at the end of the weekend. I’ll have to make sure I am also hyper sugared as well to cope. And alcohol. 😀

      I’m thinking after all these movement trays are done I’ll get back to painting some dark age figures to finish the armies.

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  5. I always produce an overabundance of game markers and aids: there is no such thing as having too many. Better to crank them out and have done with them to find out that you need to start up production again to push out more for a game. I like yours enough that even though I don't have a system that would need the little dice, I might make a batch anyway, just in case!

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  6. A man after my own heart. Themed markers are so much more attractive on the table than coloured beads and the other abominations that people put next to their beautifully painted miniatures as if it doesn't matter. Sorry, but it does matter (ahem, apologies I'm shouting). As it happens I played my first game of Clash last night at the club and very nearly pulled off a victory. I liked the game, lots of interesting decision points and timing is everything. On the downside it does require a lot of markers so I think you are definitely on the right track with these. Keep the table pretty!

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    1. Thanks TTP. CoS is a great game but it does require a LOT of markers. I’ve been making themed markers over the last several posts. I agree that it just makes the table that much prettier. The whole idea is that the marker conveys the information without spoiling the presentation. 😀

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  7. Stew, the ‘spear thrown’ stands are a good idea (worth pinching).

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  8. Great looking markers,I'm planning on doing similar ones for To the Strongest, to signify use of lance,I agree with Ed, you can never have too many and I should knock some out, have fun with Halloween, demonic fox,pretty close to a poodle!
    Best Iain

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    1. Lol Iain. Blogger inside jokes! 😀
      He a demon when it comes to getting into things while crawling around that ought not.

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  9. I agree, it is nicer to have something pretty on the table rather than plastic tiddly winks or great big dice all over the place. which certainly spoil the whole aesthetic of a game! We now have Halloween in NZ - when I first came here, we didn't. Its odd because the naysayers always claim its an American holiday, but we always had t in Scotland when I was a kid - it wasn't called trick or treat - the kids coming round were called "Guisers" from "being in disguise" It also more or less coincided with Guy Fawkes night on 5 Nov, so lots of fireworks around too. This year, thanks to Covid and the lock down in Auckland, we should not have anyone knocking on our door!

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    1. Thanks Kieth. I like my games to be at least as pretty as I am. 😀 theme-y markers help bring everything together.
      We missed Halloween last year due to lockdown so this year the kids are especially excited. Least now you get to keep all the candy for yourself.

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  10. Good luck with Halloween, first of all! It is not a favorite holiday of mine and I usually try to stay in and away from people on this holiday. A bit like a Halloween Grinch or Scrooge, I guess you could say! The markers all look really nice and you're going to have a lot to use when done. I commend you for powering through these somewhat menial tasks and the end results are worth it, in my eyes! :)

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    1. Thanks Jeff. I like the little kid version of Halloween; which works out fir me as I have so many of them. The kind of stuff that’s more silly and cute and only mildly spooky. I was never a big fan of horror.
      I excel at these menial little tasks. Mainly because they only require effort and time and no skill. 😀

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  11. You've been busy, superb markers!

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    1. Thanks Phil! Simple things really. 😀

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  12. Wait! You like Saxons better than Vikings? 😯

    Love your thrown spear markers and especially the magnetic bases.

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    1. Thanks Vol. Tis true; I like the Saxons more than Vikings. Though to be fair; the Vikings were doing to the Saxons what the Saxons did to the Britons and Welch. 😀

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    2. Yes that's true, and Vikings had shield maidens!

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  13. I’m a big fan of designed markers that look the part Stew so these look fantastic. Your Dark Ages collection is very, very good and it’s good to see you getting in some excellent gaming at home. I hope the Halloween celebrations went off superbly.

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    1. Thanks Carlo. The dark ages is one of my first loves so the collection is one of bigger ones.
      Halloween went off really well for my family. And we now have more candy than we can count. 😀

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